/> Bollywood sure has come a long way. From the matriculate-failed Kapoor khandaan to doctorate holders Lata Mangeshkar (who incidentally barely went through school), Amitabh Bachchan and now Shabana Azmi....

Do the accolades and honours ever end for the Azmi? Shabana left for England on June 2.

"Yes I'm off to the UK. I'm getting a doctorate from Leeds University on June 9. It's an exhilarating feeling for sure."

How does it feel to be called Dr Azmi? "Hey, this isn't my first doctorate! I got a doctorate from Jadavpur University six years ago, and a visiting professorship from Michigan University in 2000 as a part of the Martin Luther King award from Ann Arbor University."

Bathed in film awards, how does it feel for Shabana to be fiercely feted by the academia?

"If you ask me to choose between being recognized for my work in cinema and the academic honours, I'd be nonplussed. The doctorates are for my work outside cinema. They therefore have another kind of value attached to them.

To me my most valuable award is the Gandhi International Peace Prize for my work in the Mumbai slums. And the award that I least deserved was the one given to me by International Human Rights in 1989 by President Mitterand along with Mother Teresa. Though I didn't deserve it, I loved it."

She looks up at heaven before leaving for Leeds. "Abba (father Kaifi Azmi) would've been proud of me."